Phrasal verbs

  • Be
    • off (to a place)
    • up to: be engaged in an activity
      • I don’t know what you’re up to this Sunday
      • If you aren’t up to anything this afternoon, why don’t you come over her?
  • Call off: cancel
    • I’m calling off the barbecue
    • The natch was ruined by rain, and eventually we had to call it off
  • Catch on (become fashionable)
    • They said it was a passing trend that would never catch on 
  • Carry out (put ideas / instructions into practice)
    • We knew nobody except John, who had carried out most of the work
  • Come
    • Come across (meet by chance)
      • I first came across Claudio in Sao Paulo
    • Come down to (be essentially)
      • It really comes down to democratising the process
    • Come up with (invent, think of)
      • I came up with the idea of starting an online book community
  • Crop up: arrive unexpectedly (a duty or a problem)
    • We`re meeting at 8.30, as long as nothing crops up!
  • Cross sth out
    • Some of the names on the list had been crossed out
  • Do up (restore / redecorate)
    • We decide to do up a small barn in a tiny rural villlage
  • Drop
    •  in: visit somebody for a short time without arranging to do this
      • I dropped to see Chris on my way home
    • out: of college / university / a course / a race: stop before you have finished completely a course…
  • Eat out: eat at a restaurant, not at home
  • Fall

    • out (with somebody): stop being friends
    • through: not happen, not take place ( a plan)
      • He was ill, so we thought the meeting might fall through
  • Fill

    • in (complete paperwork)
      • We filled in some forms to get planning permission
  • Find out: get information
  • Fit in (feel comfortable in a social group)
    • You’ll have no problems fitting in. Everyone is welcome
  • Get
    • Get away from (escape, avoid)
      • We wanted to get away from the idea that you need to have a degree in order to express your opinion
    • Get by (survive financially)
      • You can still get by on €50 a week
    • Get out of sth that you have arranged to do: avoid doing it
    • Get through (finish successfully)
      • When the big waves came, I got through it OK
  • Give out: give to each person
  • Go

    • ahead: proceed as expected
      • It looks as if the family lunch is going ahead
    • on: happen
  • Hold up (delay someone)
    • The bad weather held us up so we couldn’t start renovating
  • Join in: take part in an activity that is already going on
    • We’re playing a game. Why don’t you join in?
  • Keep up with (know about recent developments)
    • It seemed like a good way to keep up with the latest books
  • Line up: plan, arrange
    • I’ve got nothing lined up for the following weekend
    • We’ve got a very good new band lined up for tonight
  • Plug in: connect an electrical machine to the electricity supply
    • The fride isn’t working because you haven’t plugged it in
  • Point sth out (to sb): draw attention to sth
  • Put

    • my feet up: relax (usually at home)
      • Time to put my feet up and take it easy!
    • (sth) off: delay it
    • on: clothes, glasses…
    • on weight
  • Run out (of)
  • See

    • off: (sb): go with sb to the airport / station to say them goodbye
    • to (organise, manage)
      • I practised every day and to it that I was ready
  • Set
    • off: start a journey
  • Snow under (to be snowed under): to be extremely busy
    • Sorry, but I’m completely snowed under at the moment
  • Sort sth out: find a solution to, put in order
  • Take
    • off clothes, glasses, ….
    • off: leave the groud ( for planes)
    • in: deceive somebody
      • I was completely taken in by the man who said he was a policeman
    • to (like sth – sb)
      • I took to it immediately
  • Tie up (to be tied up): to be busy, not free
    • Unfortunately, I’m a bit tied up tomorrow, so I can’t come
  • Try

    • on: clothes, to see if they fit
    • out: a machine, a system, a new idea…
  • Turn

    • up (arrive)
      • I turned up at the Chrysalis Hippy Commune forty years later
    • out (become)
  • Wind down: become relaxed
    • I decided to go to the beach in order to wind down
  • Work out
    • do physical exercises:
    • develop, progress
    • calculate, think about a problem, and findthe answer

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